APM Terminals (APMT) Moin has launched a new reefer inspection express lane at its terminal.
Trucks now pass through a finely tuned and fast inspection process for empty reefers exiting the terminal for delivery directly to farms.
Due to the improved process, there are almost zero waiting times, no reworks and transportation costs are considerably improved, reported APMT.
“With hundreds of employees trained in Lean principles such as process mapping, standardisation and Kaizen (Continuous Improvement) it was only a matter of time before the 40-minute inspection time for reefers exiting the terminal came under scrutiny by Ricardo Alexis Alvarado Ruiz, supervisor at APM Terminals Moin,” APMT reported in a released statement.
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Ruiz aimed to reduce the 40 minutes that truck drivers had to wait for every reefer inspection. By removing ‘wasted time’ from the process and implementing a drive-in drive-out express inspection lane, APMT reported that congestion at the terminal has been reduced considerably.
The newly located express lane allows trucks to drive in forwards, with no sharp turns that have the potential to hinder other traffic. Reducing unnecessary truck manoeuvres has saved both time and improved safety.
Currently processing up to around 120 transactions per week, feedback from external truck drivers has only been positive according to APMT, citing the reduced waiting times and the fact that they no longer have to carry out difficult manoeuvres in limited space.
Last month, APMT invested in 240 new pieces of equipment for five of its terminals in Latin America, Africa, and Europe.
More recently, APMT Elizabeth reported good progress on its $5 million Electrification Pilot Project.
